Even though in his head he was ranting away, Kuroba Akira's body still obediently followed the road to school… the inertia of habit.
Today, Akira wasn't late, but the moment he stepped into the classroom, he could clearly feel the shift in atmosphere.
Yesterday's commotion had rattled the class's social balance—Akira had already become someone the other students couldn't just ignore.
Unbothered, he walked to his seat and greeted the boy behind him, Fujiyoshi Michio.
"Morning, Fujiyoshi-kun."
"Ah, good morning, Kuroba-kun. You're not late today."
"Yesterday was a fluke…"
They'd barely exchanged two sentences when the ever-energetic blond, Sumitomo Ryouta, bounded over to join in.
"Yo! Akira, Michio—morning!"
"…Morning."
"Mm, good morning, Ryouta-kun."
Akira looked resigned. It seemed this Ryouta guy really had decided they were friends now—and had already gotten chummy with Fujiyoshi too, calling him by first name since yesterday.
He came right out with it:
"Akira, you didn't walk to school with Hitomi?"
"We don't live in the same direction… I mean, I don't even know where the class rep lives."
"Huh? You don't know that?"
"Why would I know?"
Did this guy even listen to what was said yesterday? He and the class rep weren't dating, okay?
And Ryouta wasn't here to brag about how close he was to Anri Hitomi—he just slung an arm over Akira's shoulders, grinning slyly.
"How about I tell you? She lives near my place. You could come over sometime, and I could, you know, 'happen' to tell you her address…"
"Sumitomo-kun, please don't block the aisle for other students."
"Uh—!"
Hitomi had just arrived at school. The moment she stepped into the classroom, she'd caught the tail end of a sentence that made a vein twitch at her temple.
Even though the path to her desk didn't require passing by Akira's row, she deliberately went the long way—just to pass close enough to give Ryouta a "kind" smile while he was about to blurt out her address.
Seeing that chilling smile, Ryouta felt like he was facing a man-eating demon queen…
Why did I ever like her, again?
Once the rose-colored filter of a crush shattered, Ryouta finally saw the real Hitomi—along with that quietly terrifying, commanding presence of hers.
Ryouta-san… you should've realized this long ago: the class rep was never the gentle, well-behaved type.
"Uh… Akira, partner with me for P.E. later. That's all I was gonna say… so I'll just leave you two to it, haha…"
With a couple of dry laughs, Ryouta stiffly walked back to his own circle.
Hitomi's "kind" smile then shifted naturally to Akira.
"Good morning, Kuroba-kun. Sumitomo-kun didn't say anything unnecessary, did he?"
Akira averted his gaze.
"Nope…"
Hitomi moved slightly to keep his eyes on hers, speaking with concern.
"Kuroba-kun, you don't look very well."
"Oh, I just slept too late last night."
"I see…"
Hitomi narrowed her eyes, the worry in her expression deepening.
"Then why not take the day off? I could talk to Kozaikawa-sensei for you."
"No need… seriously, don't worry about it, Class Rep, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? If you're not feeling well—"
"Really, it's nothing. You can rest easy. I'll even be at the literature club meeting after school like usual."
Not that Shirai Shiori would necessarily be happy to see him—but just showing up to irritate her a bit would already make it worth going.
"I'm glad to hear that. But if you can't push through, you have to tell me right away, alright?"
"Mm-hm. If it comes to that, you'll be the first to know, Class Rep."
Satisfied, Hitomi returned to her seat.
After she left, Fujiyoshi couldn't help commenting.
"…The class rep really cares about you, Kuroba-kun."
"Yeah… but we're not actually dating, you know?"
"I believe you. But other classmates might not."
"Eh… nothing I can do about that."
People didn't realize just how much Hitomi valued her friends.
And conversely—if they did know, they'd realize she hadn't considered them real friends.
That could easily lead to her being isolated, her reputation in Class 1-A crumbling to dust.
But as things stood, at most they'd just think it was some messy love triangle—and keep it in the realm of personal relationships.
Might as well let them misunderstand… the only annoying part was possibly ending up targeted by Sumitomo Ryouta's little fan club.
While Ryouta himself had let it go, his friends clearly hadn't—judging by those unfriendly looks. To be honest, Akira didn't get why Ryouta was being so nice to a supposed "rival" either.
As long as they didn't pull the classic "waiting after school to corner him" stunt, fine…
The morning classes started. Akira had planned to spend them writing his novel, but the aftereffects of staying up all night were kicking in hard—the throbbing in his temples growing unnatural. He plopped his head down on the desk.
But after a while… he just couldn't fall asleep. A hard desktop was no match for Tashiro-san's chest pillow.
And this body still hadn't developed the ability to fall asleep in any position.
Might as well just go to the nurse's office and sleep through the morning, then start writing in the afternoon… yes! Settled!
So, in the very first period, Akira raised his hand high, stood, and said:
"Sensei, I'm not feeling well. Can I go to the nurse's office?"
"Oh… alright, go ahead."
After yesterday's chaos, most teachers—aside from Kozaikawa-sensei—had decided the best way to deal with Akira was to just… not deal with him. Permission granted on the spot.
As expected, teachers in every world and every country preferred to leave troublemakers alone. Yesterday's events actually had a silver lining.
Happily, Akira headed for the back door—only to hear the class rep's voice before he was out.
"Sensei, I'm the class rep. I'll go with Kuroba-kun to the nurse's office."
"Alright, go ahead. Just come see me later for the class notes."
Every teacher trusted Hitomi's character—especially since she was the top student in her year.
Top students were welcome anywhere, so the teacher assumed she was simply being considerate toward a classmate—and even gave her a convenient pass.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Then, under the eyes of the entire class, Hitomi walked right over to Akira, linked her arm through his, and smiled.
"Let's go, Kuroba-kun."
"…Okay."
Well… now the misunderstanding had deepened again.
The other students would no doubt imagine the two of them going to the nurse's office to do something unspeakable… after all, that was the legendary battlefield where Makunouchi Makoto had once "fought."
But he really was just going there to sleep!
As for the class rep… was she planning to warm his bed, or… join him?
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